Monk Eastman
Encyclopedia
Edward "Monk" Eastman was a New York City Gangster
who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang
. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney. Eastman is considered to be one of the last of the nineteenth-century New York gangsters who preceded the rise of Arnold Rothstein
and more sophisticated organized criminal enterprises such as Cosa Nostra.
, Brooklyn
to an affluent Jewish restaurant owner. When Monk reached maturity, the story continues, his father set him up with a pet shop where he could indulge in his hobby of raising and selling birds, but young Edward was eventually seduced by the action and easy money of Manhattan
's underworld, which he went on to conquer with sheer brute force. As popular as this story may be, no public records exist to support it. What city records do tell us (as documented by crime authors such as Patrick Downey, Ron Arons, and Rose Keefe) is that Monk was born Edward Eastman in 1875 in the rowdy Corlear's Hook section of lower Manhattan to Samuel Eastman, a Civil War vet and wallpaper-hanger, and his wife Mary Parks. By the time Monk was five his father had run off and the family had been forced to relocate to the home of Mary Parks' father George Parks on the upper east side.
According to the 1880 United States Census 5 year old Edward Eastman was living on East Seventy Fifth St., in Manhattan, NY. He lived with his grandfather George Parks, age 68. George was born in New York as were both his parents and was working in a dry goods store. Also in residence were Edward's mother Mary, age 35, sisters Lizzie, age 10, Ida, age 8, and Francine age 3. Everyone being born in New York with the exception of Lizzie who was born in California. Both George Parks and Mary Eastman are recorded as having been divorced.
Going back 10 years to the 1870 census Mary Eastman is seen living on Cannon St. in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Samuel Eastman, age 40, born in New York and working as a paper hanger. Living with them were Lizzie and Willie, age 3 born in New York. It can be speculated that Willie did not survive as he was not listed with the family in 1880. Going back another 10 years to the 1860 census Samuel Eastman is seen living in Manhattan in the household of Thomas McSpedon (?) and working as a paper hanger. While no further census records on Edward Eastman are found his mother is listed in the 1900 census as living on Curtis Ave. in Queens with her daughters Elizabeth and Francine and their families.
The fact that Monk's first documented arrest didn't occur until after his grandfather had died suggests that George Parks may have succeeded in keeping young Monk on a relatively respectable path. At some point George set Monk up with a pet shop on Broome street, and even after he had become a notorious gangster, Monk continued to list "bird seller" as his legitimate occupation. But Eastman's considerable skill as a criminal suggests that he had spent his youth doing not-so respectable things as well. At some point he must have gravitated back to his childhood haunts on the lower east side and become involved with the many gangs of the area.
Eastman's greatest rival was Paul Kelly
, leader of the Five Points Gang
. The warfare between these two gangs reached a fever pitch on September 17, 1903, with a protracted gun battle on Rivington Street involving dozens of gangsters. One man was killed and a second reported fatally wounded and numerous innocent civilians were injured. Members of the Eastman gang were arrested
Tammany Hall worked closely with both Kelly and Eastman, and grew tired of the feuding—and the bad press that was generated when civilians were killed or injured in the cross-fire. In 1903, Tammany Hall set-up a boxing match between Eastman and Kelly in an old barn up in the Bronx. The fight lasted two hours, with both men taking an awful punishment before it was called a draw.
Monk Eastman lived at 221 E.5th Street at the turn of the century, just about two blocks from Paul Kelly's New Brighton Social Club at 57 Great Jones Street.
. However, the young man was being followed by two Pinkerton
agents hired by man's family to keep him out of trouble. The agents intervened and Eastman started shooting at the agents while running away. The chased ended when Eastman was apprehended by policemen responding to the shooting. Tired of bad publicity from Eastman, Tammany Hall refused to help him this time. Later that year, Eastman was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison at Sing Sing
penitentiary.
In 1909, Eastman was released after serving five years in prison. During his absence, the Eastman Gang had shattered into several factions; one of his top men, Zwerbach, was dead. Since none of the surviving gang factions wanted Eastman as their leader, he was effectively out of power. For several years, Eastman reverted to petty thievery. During this period, he became addicted to opium and served several short jail terms.
in 1917, the 42-year old Eastman decided to join the Army. During his military physical, the doctor observed all the knife and bullet scars on Eastman's body and asked him which wars he had been in; Eastman replied, "Oh! A lot of little wars around New York.". Eastman ended up serving in France with "O'Ryan's Roughnecks", the 106th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Infantry Division. After Eastman's discharge in 1919, the Governor of New York, Al Smith
, recognized Eastman's honorable service by restoring his U.S. citizenship.
agent. On the morning of December 26, 1920, a group of men, including Eastman and Bohan, met at the Bluebird Cafe in Lower Manhattan
. Around 4 am, there was a group conflict over a monetary issue, with Eastman and Bohan particularly opposing one another. When Bohan left, Eastman followed him and accused him of being a rat. Feeling threatened due to previous conflicts between the two, Bohan quickly went for his pistol and emptied it into Eastman and he died.
Bohan was later convicted of Eastman's murder and served three years in prison. Monk Eastman was buried with full military honors in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang
Eastman Gang
The Eastman Gang was the last of New York's street gangs which dominated the city's underworld during the late 1890s until early 1910s. Along with the Five Points Gang under Paul Kelly, the Eastmans succeeded the long dominant Whyos as the first non-Irish street gang to gain prominence in the...
. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney. Eastman is considered to be one of the last of the nineteenth-century New York gangsters who preceded the rise of Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
and more sophisticated organized criminal enterprises such as Cosa Nostra.
Early life
Monk Eastman's background is a subject of debate. The most common story, popularized by Herbert Asbury in his book The Gangs of New York says that Monk was born Edward Osterman in WilliamsburgWilliamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
to an affluent Jewish restaurant owner. When Monk reached maturity, the story continues, his father set him up with a pet shop where he could indulge in his hobby of raising and selling birds, but young Edward was eventually seduced by the action and easy money of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's underworld, which he went on to conquer with sheer brute force. As popular as this story may be, no public records exist to support it. What city records do tell us (as documented by crime authors such as Patrick Downey, Ron Arons, and Rose Keefe) is that Monk was born Edward Eastman in 1875 in the rowdy Corlear's Hook section of lower Manhattan to Samuel Eastman, a Civil War vet and wallpaper-hanger, and his wife Mary Parks. By the time Monk was five his father had run off and the family had been forced to relocate to the home of Mary Parks' father George Parks on the upper east side.
According to the 1880 United States Census 5 year old Edward Eastman was living on East Seventy Fifth St., in Manhattan, NY. He lived with his grandfather George Parks, age 68. George was born in New York as were both his parents and was working in a dry goods store. Also in residence were Edward's mother Mary, age 35, sisters Lizzie, age 10, Ida, age 8, and Francine age 3. Everyone being born in New York with the exception of Lizzie who was born in California. Both George Parks and Mary Eastman are recorded as having been divorced.
Going back 10 years to the 1870 census Mary Eastman is seen living on Cannon St. in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Samuel Eastman, age 40, born in New York and working as a paper hanger. Living with them were Lizzie and Willie, age 3 born in New York. It can be speculated that Willie did not survive as he was not listed with the family in 1880. Going back another 10 years to the 1860 census Samuel Eastman is seen living in Manhattan in the household of Thomas McSpedon (?) and working as a paper hanger. While no further census records on Edward Eastman are found his mother is listed in the 1900 census as living on Curtis Ave. in Queens with her daughters Elizabeth and Francine and their families.
The fact that Monk's first documented arrest didn't occur until after his grandfather had died suggests that George Parks may have succeeded in keeping young Monk on a relatively respectable path. At some point George set Monk up with a pet shop on Broome street, and even after he had become a notorious gangster, Monk continued to list "bird seller" as his legitimate occupation. But Eastman's considerable skill as a criminal suggests that he had spent his youth doing not-so respectable things as well. At some point he must have gravitated back to his childhood haunts on the lower east side and become involved with the many gangs of the area.
Criminal career
Monk Eastman officially entered the police records in 1898 under the alias William Murray (one of the many Irish monikers Eastman employed). He spent three months on Blackwell's Island for larceny. During this time Eastman belonged to a gang of pimps and thieves known as the Allen Street Cadets. Herbert Asbury reports that Eastman distinguished himself as a colorful character in these early days by keeping a messy head of wild hair, wearing a derby two sizes two small for his head, sporting numerous gold-capped teeth, and often parading around shirtless or in tatters, always accompanied by his cherished pigeons. In time, Monk's reputation as a tough guy (despite his squat five-foot-six inch frame) earned him the job of "sheriff" or bouncer at the New Irving Hall, a celebrated club on Broome street, not far from his pet shop. According to urban legend, Monk patrolled the New Irving with a four-foot-long "locust" or police day-stick in hand, on which he carved a notch for every head bashed. On the night that he reached 49 notches, Eastman reportedly whacked an innocent bystander as well so as to make it an even fifty. It was in places like the New Irving Hall and Silver Dollar Smith's Saloon (another Eastman haunt) that Eastman first became involved with the Tammany Hall politicians who would eventually put him and his cohorts to work as repeat voters and strong-arm men.Eastman's greatest rival was Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (criminal)
Paul Kelly was an Italian immigrant who founded the Five Points Gang in New York City after starting some brothels with prize monies earned in boxing...
, leader of the Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
. The warfare between these two gangs reached a fever pitch on September 17, 1903, with a protracted gun battle on Rivington Street involving dozens of gangsters. One man was killed and a second reported fatally wounded and numerous innocent civilians were injured. Members of the Eastman gang were arrested
Tammany Hall worked closely with both Kelly and Eastman, and grew tired of the feuding—and the bad press that was generated when civilians were killed or injured in the cross-fire. In 1903, Tammany Hall set-up a boxing match between Eastman and Kelly in an old barn up in the Bronx. The fight lasted two hours, with both men taking an awful punishment before it was called a draw.
Monk Eastman lived at 221 E.5th Street at the turn of the century, just about two blocks from Paul Kelly's New Brighton Social Club at 57 Great Jones Street.
Prison
On February 3, 1904, Eastman attempted to rob a young man on 42nd Street and Broadway in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. However, the young man was being followed by two Pinkerton
Pinkerton
Pinkerton may refer to:*Pinkerton , a 1996 album by Weezer*Pinkerton, Ontario*Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a detective agency founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton*Pinkerton Academy, a high school in Derry, New Hampshire...
agents hired by man's family to keep him out of trouble. The agents intervened and Eastman started shooting at the agents while running away. The chased ended when Eastman was apprehended by policemen responding to the shooting. Tired of bad publicity from Eastman, Tammany Hall refused to help him this time. Later that year, Eastman was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison at Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
penitentiary.
In 1909, Eastman was released after serving five years in prison. During his absence, the Eastman Gang had shattered into several factions; one of his top men, Zwerbach, was dead. Since none of the surviving gang factions wanted Eastman as their leader, he was effectively out of power. For several years, Eastman reverted to petty thievery. During this period, he became addicted to opium and served several short jail terms.
Military service
After the United States entered World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917, the 42-year old Eastman decided to join the Army. During his military physical, the doctor observed all the knife and bullet scars on Eastman's body and asked him which wars he had been in; Eastman replied, "Oh! A lot of little wars around New York.". Eastman ended up serving in France with "O'Ryan's Roughnecks", the 106th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Infantry Division. After Eastman's discharge in 1919, the Governor of New York, Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
, recognized Eastman's honorable service by restoring his U.S. citizenship.
Final years
After his discharge from the Army, Eastman quickly returned to a life of petty crime. One of his criminal partners was Jerry Bohan, a corrupt ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
agent. On the morning of December 26, 1920, a group of men, including Eastman and Bohan, met at the Bluebird Cafe in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. Around 4 am, there was a group conflict over a monetary issue, with Eastman and Bohan particularly opposing one another. When Bohan left, Eastman followed him and accused him of being a rat. Feeling threatened due to previous conflicts between the two, Bohan quickly went for his pistol and emptied it into Eastman and he died.
Bohan was later convicted of Eastman's murder and served three years in prison. Monk Eastman was buried with full military honors in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Monk's Religion
Although universally referred to as a Jewish gangster (even by papers of his own time), there is remarkably little evidence supporting Monk Eastman's Jewishness beyond the fact that he worked closely with many Jewish criminals and was circumcised. In fact the evidence against his being Jewish is stronger. In his book The Jews of Sing Sing, author Ron Arons points out that none of Monk's sisters (or his own parents for that matter) were married in Jewish ceremonies, and that his maternal grandfather died in a Baptist rest home. Also, his paternal grandfather was born in America during a time when there were very few Jews in the country. Eastman's brother-in-law even told the medical examiner after Monk's death that the gangster was "not a Hebrew." All the same, none of the evidence against Monk's Jewishness is airtight (in a climate of antisemitism such as existed in late 19th century America, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Monk's family simply hid or even renounced their Jewish heritage) so the matter will probably remain a permanent point of debate.Eastman in Literature and Film
- Eastman is featured in a 1933 short story by Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis BorgesJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
called Monk Eastman: Purveyor of IniquitiesA Universal History of InfamyA Universal History of Infamy, or A Universal History of Iniquity , is a collection of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, first published in 1935, and revised by the author in 1954. Most were published individually in the newspaper Critica between 1933 and 1934...
and in Kevin BakerKevin BakerKevin Baker is an American novelist and journalist. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in New Jersey and Rockport, Massachusetts....
's 1999 novel Dreamland. - In the P.G. Wodehouse novel, Psmith, JournalistPsmith, JournalistPsmith, Journalist is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first released in the United Kingdom as a serial in The Captain magazine between October 1909 and February 1910, and published in book form in the UK on September 29, 1915, by Adam & Charles Black, London, and, from imported sheets, by Macmillan,...
, the fictional character "Bat Jarvis" is largely based on Eastman and shares his kindhearted streak for animals. - In the 1988 film Eight Men OutEight Men OutEight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
Monk Eastman is referred to as one of Arnold Rothstein's enforcers and collection agents. "Yeah, that's right, I'm collecting for Mr. Rothstein now," said Abe "Lil Champ" Attell, played by Michael Mantell. "Would you rather deal with Monk Eastman!?" Stephen Mendillo, who played Monk in the movie, had a couple lines in the train station when Rothstein sends him to let Sport Sullivan know the fix is on: "If anyone connects Mr. Rothstein to this, I come see you again. You don't want that!" - The film Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
features a character called "Walter 'Monk" McGwin" (played by actor Brendan GleesonBrendan GleesonBrendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...
) who is loosely based on Eastman and carries a club with notches carved into it. However, the story in this film takes place several decades before Eastman became a "sheriff", or bouncer. - In the book, "The Notorious Izzy Fink" by Don Brown, Monk was powerful gang leader.
- Monk Eastman is referenced in Harry Grey's 1952 biographical novel, "The Hoods" (on which Sergio Leone's movie, "Once Upon a Time in AmericaOnce Upon a Time in AmericaOnce Upon a Time in America is a 1984 Italian epic crime film co-written and directed by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime...
" was based).